derisus Latin · revision 36459

+ {{homograph|1|laughable}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=116–27 BC, Varro|origins=la rīdeō}}

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''dērīsus''' (feminine dērīsa, neuter dērīsum, superlative dērīsissimus); first/second-declension adjective^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective “laughable” is [[der|la|dērīdeō|t=to laugh at, mock]], its past participle.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) The verb is formed from [[m|la|dē-]] and [[m|la|rīdeō|t=to laugh]],^(Wiktionary) for which de Vaan finds no good Indo-European etymology.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The OLD's only example is in Varro's ''Menippean Satires'', in the superlative: an old man whom the Latin stage saw as most ridiculous, ''quem senem Latīna vīdit dērīsissimum''.^(OLD 2012)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Besides the plain participle, mocked or laughed at,^(Lewis & Short 1879) it was used as an adjective meaning absurd or laughable,^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) a rare use.^(OLD 2012)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses the superlative of a ridiculous old man on the stage.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(participle)'' [[m|en|mock|alt=Mocked]], laughed at.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # [[m|en|laughable|alt=Laughable]], [[m|en|absurd]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ {{homograph|2|mockery}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 15 BC–c. 50 AD, Phaedrus|origins=la rīdeō}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''dērīsus''' ''m'' (genitive dērīsūs); fourth declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun “mockery” is [[af|la|dērīdeō|-tus|t1=to laugh at, mock]], a noun of action.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL) The simple verb is [[m|la|rīdeō|t=to laugh]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Lewis and Short think it perhaps not found before Augustus.^(Lewis & Short 1879) The OLD's first examples are in Valerius Maximus and Phaedrus, who says of a man that he deceives strangers but is a laughing-stock to those who know him, ''nōtīs est dērīsuī''.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It means mockery, scorn or derision, and in the dative a person or thing is ''dērīsuī'', an object of ridicule:^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Tacitus writes that a sham triumph over Germany had been a laughing-stock.^(OLD 2012) Quintilian remarks that derision is not far from laughter, and uses it with a genitive of the thing mocked.^(OLD 2012) The TLL notes that only some cases are common, the nominative and ablative singular from Seneca on and the dative and accusative from Phaedrus on.^(TLL)

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+ The Vulgate has the phrases ''in dērīsum facere'', ''habēre'' and ''dare'', to make a mockery of someone,^(Lewis & Short 1879) and Church Latin kept the sense of scorn and derision.^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 15 BC–c. 50 AD – Phaedrus uses it in the dative for a laughing-stock.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian discusses derision as a kind of laughter.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 98–115 AD – Tacitus calls a false triumph a mockery.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses ''in dērīsum'' for making a mockery of someone.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|mockery|alt=Mockery]], [[m|en|scorn]], [[m|en|derision]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # ''dērīsuī esse'': to be a [[m|en|laughing-stock]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dērīsor]]

+ * [[dērīsiō]]

+ * [[rīsus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}